Conditions for minimization of halo particle production during transverse compression of intense ion charge bunches in the Paul Trap Simulator Experiment (PTSX)

The Paul Trap Simulator Experiment (PTSX) is a compact laboratory Paul trap that simulates propagation of a long, thin charged-particle bunch coasting through a multi-kilometer-long magnetic alternating-gradient (AG) transport system by putting the physicist in the frame-of-reference of the beam. The transverse dynamics of particles in both systems are described by the same sets of equations-including all nonlinear space-charge effects. The time-dependent quadrupolar voltages applied to the PTSX confinement electrodes correspond to the axially dependent magnetic fields applied in the AG system. This paper presents the results of experiments in which the amplitude of the applied confining voltage is changed over the course of the experiment in order to transversely compress a beam with an initial depressed tune ν/ν₀∼0.9. Both instantaneous and smooth changes are considered. Particular emphasis is placed on determining the conditions that minimize the emittance growth and, generally, the number of particles that are found at large radius (so-called halo particles) after the beam compression. The experimental data are also compared with the results of particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations performed with the WARP code.